


Older

by Mary_chat



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: 20 years old, F/M, Older Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27637441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mary_chat/pseuds/Mary_chat
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 3
Kudos: 47





	Older

There was another thing Marinette wished she could have outgrown, aside from her pigtails—her darn near-crippling klutziness. Becoming Ladybug might have increased her luck, but it could only do so much for Marinette’s coordination, as proven when she tried to quietly slip into her track pants and ended up tripping on the hems and falling with a loud crash, which roused her sleeping kwami—something Marinette had been trying to avoid.

“Mm…Marinette?” Tikki inquired, rubbing sleep from her indigo eyes. “What are you doing? It’s six in the morning.”

“Sorry, Tikki,” Marinette apologized with a cringe. She carefully wiggled into her track pants this time, with more success. “I was just gonna go for a run.”

“Really?” Marinette would be more insulted by Tikki’s incredulous tone if her overwhelming track record of not being a morning person didn’t speak so loudly against her. “But…didn’t you go to bed late last night?”

Marinette cringed. Indeed, she went to bed at three last night—in a fit of pique, in fact, after her creativity refused to flow properly and give her some good ideas for her spring line. As a result, the floor around her workspace was littered with crumpled up sheets of paper…and Marinette was more than willing to let the failed creations take responsibility for her stumbling this morning.

“Yes,” she admitted with a sigh to Tikki, her body’s groan of exhaustion echoing the truth of her kwami’s words. “But I can’t afford to sleep in anymore. I need to get back in shape.”

She resolved that it was time to dust off and lace up her running shoes.

“Paris is depending on me, Tikki,” Marinette said, slipping on her track jacket next before she tied her hair up into a ponytail. “I can’t afford to fail, so if it means running on three hours of sleep today, then so be it. I have to do this.”

Tikki smiled a little, zipping over next to Marinette.

“I’m glad to see you’re taking your responsibility so seriously…but I’m worried about you, too. Are you sure this is okay?”

“I’ve had worse,” Marinette reminded her kwami with a grin.

Tikki sternly as she followed Marinette down the stairs of her townhouse apartment. It was a modest place, this space Marinette had made for herself—mismatched furniture littered her living room, a combination of bargain hunting and assistance from Alya and Nino. Marinette’s favorite piece of furniture in the room was the lamp that sat in the corner, the shade a hot pink with fur trim that sparkled when the bulb within was turned on. The only luxury items in the room were a sleek gaming system hooked up to a sizable TV, for when Marinette was feeling a MechaStrike itch that just _had_ to be scratched. (When she could find the time to scratch it, anyway.)

Passing by the living room, Marinette headed for the kitchen, cringing at the week-old shopping list on the front of her fridge. She really had to make the time to go grocery shopping.

There was a fine mist in the air—the morning fog of fall settling in. It looked like it would lift soon, so Marinette didn’t bother herself about it, concerning herself instead with a couple warm-up stretches before she took off, relishing in the warmth that shot through and loosened the muscles of her legs as she ran. To be honest, she would rather be flying, but that would be just a _tad_ distracting, even if most of Paris was still asleep at this hour. Besides, it probably wasn’t advisable with all this fog around.

Slipping a hand into her pocket, Marinette retrieved her phone and earbuds, selecting her favorite Jagged Stone CD and putting it on loop as she ran. The sound of the guitar being shredded by her favorite artist electrified Marinette, pushing her to run faster, a grin on her face. Despite her lack of sleep, this run was energizing, and she commended herself for being responsible enough to make this decision on her own. Hmm…maybe she could squeeze in a visit to her parents’ bakery before she had to go back home and get ready for class.

As Marinette rounded the corner, nodding her head to the beat of her music, she didn’t notice the figure crossing the street towards her at a worrisome rate until it was too late, and they collided. With an ungraceful yelp and fall, Marinette was on the ground, her backside slammed into the concrete under her.

“Owww,” she groaned, tugging out an earbud and wincing. “What the heck?”

“Oh, sorry,” apologized a harried-sounding voice, and a tall figure leaned through the fog towards her. “I didn’t mean to—”

Marinette froze, her mouth coming open with a pop.

Green eyes blinked at her, seemingly as astonished as she was.

‘ _You have_ got _to_ _be kidding me._ ’

Marinette inwardly groaned, straightening up as Adrien Agreste sat back, still blinking at her.

“Marinette,”

Marinette sighed in defeat.

“Adrien,” she replied to him coolly.

She got to her feet, brushing herself off and discreetly patting her pocket, just to make sure that Tikki was still there. The telltale lump assured her, and she was able to switch her focus to the too-tall model unfolding himself in front of her. She scowled as soon as his height cleared hers; did he _have_ to be so tall? .

“What’re you doing here?” Marinette asked, working to seem like the answer didn’t really matter to her as she removed her remaining earbud. “Don’t you live on the other side of town?”

To this, Adrien merely shrugged.

“I like jogging on this side of town,” he answered, the corners of his mouth twitching suspiciously. “And I see I’m not alone.”

“But unlike you, I actually live nearby,” Marinette told him, without really knowing why. 

Adrien tilted his head to the side. His hair was carefully swept to the side, as always, but Marinette could tell some of it was pulled back into…was that a bun at the back of his head?

‘ _Oh no, THAT’S TOO CUTE,_ ’ Marinette thought without really meaning to. 

“Still living with your parents, then?”

“Just because I live nearby doesn’t mean I’m still living with my parents,” she sniffed, and Adrien quirked a brow, his lips beginning to curve upwards.

“I was just asking. I like your parents,” he said, causing Marinette to blink at him. 

The doubt must’ve been obvious on her face; Adrien grinned a little, like he wasn’t able to help it anymore.

“You don’t believe me?”

“It’s just funny how you claim to like them after only meeting them one time, years ago,” Marinette pointed out, folding her arms.

Nose in the air, she stomped past him, praying with all her might that he would go on with his jog and leave her alone—

No such luck. He immediately fell into step beside her.

Marinette scowled, skidding to a stop about a block from Master Fu’s place. She turned to frown up at the model beside her, who was in a track suit, just like hers, though his was dark green and black to her pink and black. He gazed down at her, no longer smiling…but his expression was more open than Marinette had ever seen it.

A tiny smile curved his lips now, giving him the look of the shy boy Marinette had once fallen hard and fast for. 

Fourteen year old Marinette would have squealed and melted into a puddle right then and there, all negative thoughts revolving around Adrien Agreste disappearing on the spot.

Twenty one year old Marinette, however, had a lot more grit than that, and a hit to her pride that had yet to be truly recovered. So while she took note of the puppy eyes and filed the danger they posed away for later, she stood her ground.

She turned on her heel, continuing on her jog. Adrien continued to follow her.

Marinette refused to look at him, focusing on Master Fu’s massage parlor. It wasn’t open yet, but that hardly mattered—Master Fu would want to see her, no matter what time it was. But Marinette couldn’t just enter with Adrien tailing her—it would raise too many questions that she just wasn’t willing to answer. And so, with a stab of annoyance, she ran past Master Fu’s and continued down the street, She’d stop by her parents’ bakery and see them, maybe grab a bite to eat. Her newly acquired shadow will hopefully have left by then, if she was lucky…

Marinette was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of Adrien softly singing to himself. With a jolt, she realized that he was singing along to the song she was listening to; her free earbud must be louder than she thought.

Marinette hummed noncommittedly. From her peripheral vision, she sized Adrien up, taking note of the easy breaths that passed through him; talking while jogging didn’t seem to wind him at all, which made sense, considering how obvious it was that he was in good shape— _no, Marinette, bad, focus._ His hair pulled back into a bun was indeed adorable, now that she was looking at his profile…but something about it reminded her of someone else—

Adrien glanced over and caught her staring. The corner of his mouth twitched again.

“Yes?” He asked, and Marinette tore her gaze from him, fresh irritation flashing through her, which explained the heat she could feel in her face. Yup, definitely due to irritation. Absolutely.

“Just wondering how long you plan on following me,” she grumbled.

“I always jog this way,” Adrien answered, and his lips twitched again at the snort of disbelief Marinette made. “I also like the smell of your parents’ bakery.”

Marinette quirked a brow at him as they drew closer to _Boulangerie Patisserie_. She supposed she knew what he meant about the smell—she could already catch whiffs of baking bread, and that was soothing to her in a different way: it was home.

“You just run past my parents’ bakery without buying anything?” She felt like teasingly scolding him. Adrien’s brow puckered at this.

“Well, it’s not like I wouldn’t like to…” He shifted a glance over to her, and Marinette was surprised to find that he actually looked _guilty._ “It’s just…bread’s not something I’m supposed to have…an excess of.”

Oh, right. Model.

Marinette frowned, slowing as they approached the front door of the bakery. She had never really thought about it before, but now that she was looking at him, Adrien _was_ pretty slim, despite the muscle mass he’d seemed to accumulate over the years. jeez, a life without _bread?_ How sad.

“Come on. Let’s stop for a croissant. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

Adrien stopped too, glancing to and away from the bakery quickly, like he was peering at something he really shouldn’t be looking at. His model smile suddenly appeared, making Marinette raise her eyebrows.

“That’s okay. I’ll eat when I get back. I really shouldn’t…” He paused as Marinette opened the door a crack, and the smell of fresh bread swirled around them. The smell seemed to stun him; he blinked a couple times, breathing deeply. It looked like he was having a hard time not openly salivating; Marinette bit her lip to keep from giggling.

“One croissant won’t hurt you,” she pointed out, a smile curving her lips as she was keeping the door propped open with the toe of her tennis shoe. Adrien inhaled some more, his eyes closing momentarily. He opened them again a moment later, sending her a frown.

“Ah…I get it. You’re trying to ruin me, aren’t you?” He gave her a tight smile. 

Marinette scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“No one’s trying to fatten you up,” she chided him, nudging the door open wider so that the bell tinkled. “One croissant won’t kill you…but if you’d rather do without…”

She let the door fall slowly closed behind her, a challenging look in her eyes as she kept Adrien’s gaze. To great amusement, he looked extremely conflicted. But just as the door was about to shut all the way, his hand caught the knob, and he ducked in after her, shoulders hunching again, like he was skulking. Marinette didn’t bother to stifle her giggling this time around.

“Oh, Marinette!” 

Marinette turned with a smile to the short woman that had just emerged from behind the counter. It was with much warmth that she embraced her daughter.

“Hi, Maman,” Marinette greeted, smiling down at her mother.

Sabine, looking quite pleased. “Tom, look who’s here! It’s Marinette and—oh!”

Marinette glanced over her shoulder, spotting Adrien still hovering by the door. He raised a hand to wave.

“Good morning, Mrs. Cheng,” he greeted politely enough.

“Sabine, please,” Sabine corrected him, waving him forward. Adrien obliged. 

Tom, was carrying a tray of freshly baked bread, and he eased around the counter with it, smiling at Marinette and Adrien. “Good morning.”

“Morning, Papa,” Marinette chirped, He set the bread tray upon its proper rack to cool.

“I decided a jog would be good for me this morning,” she stated with as much grace as she could, her nose in the air. “And then Adrien ran into me.”

“Anyway, we’re just here for a couple chocolate-filled croissants ”

“Of course,” Tom huffed, blustering in a teasing fashion as he picked up a paper bag and a pair of tongs.

Marinette, grabbing another pair of tongs and dropping things into the bag her father already held. 

“It’s nice to see you again, honey. 

“Here,” she huffed, pushing the bag of pastries onto Adrien.

“Oh. Thanks.” He shifted the bag into one arm.

It was the soft snort from Adrien that was the final straw, and Marinette turned an about-face, stomping towards the door. “Okay, we’re leaving, right now.”

“I’d actually like to stay and chat with your parents more—” Adrien said, sounding like he was trying not to laugh.

“They’re _very busy,_ ” Marinette snarled, coming back for Adrien and pushing against his back. He seemed startled by her strength, and his surprise allowed him to be shunted from the shop.

“Er, bye, Mr. Dupain! Bye, Sabine!”

"Bye Adrien!"

He lifted the pastry bag.

“Shall we?”

Her stomach rumbled in reaction, and Adrien snickered, muffling the sound with a hand as Marinette glared at him, red-faced. She snatched the bag from him and walked resolutely to the nearest bench, her morning already off to a terrible start. 

“Your father’s baking is _amazing,_ ” he moaned, taking another bite and producing the same result. Marinette giggled, unable to help herself.

Adrien had finished his croissant and was rooting around in the bag for another one.

“I’ll see you around, Adrien.”

Adrien said nothing. Marinette nodded her head to him, resuming her jog in the opposite direction, carefully clutching the pastry bag to her. The bulge in her pocket wiggled impatiently, and Marinette patted it, mentally promising that she would feed Tikki once they reached home. At the corner, just before she turned, she allowed herself a peek over her shoulder.

Adrien was still sitting on the bench. She watched as he lifted the croissant she’d left for him up to his face. One more second of seeming deliberation, and he took a bite, appearing to chew thoughtfully. Marinette smiled a small smile before she turned, sprinting home.


End file.
